Momma, Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Samurai

[cubofkai]

Who: cubofkai, a horse, and you.
Where: Just about anywhere; the Lake
When: Afternoon!
Style: Either/or!

When Mitsuhide had told Yukimura he could train a horse to allow him to ride as he usually did, he took that to heart. Nearly every morning since he had been working with a stallion nearly as excitable as he was, chatting excitedly to it as he taught the horse with surprising patience.

Now his hard work was paying off.

If you hear the sound of pounding hooves, you may wish to get out of the way.

Yukimura was crouched on the back of the stallion, one foot sideways and the other placed squarely between the beast's shoulder blades. He held his hands at his sides, missing the feel of his spears in his hands, as they cantered through any space big enough and empty enough for an excitable horse and his master to pass through.

If one were to follow them, eventually they would find a laughing Yukimura near the lake, brushing the sweat off the equine's body as it drank its fill.

Comments

[caesar]

A skill for any samurai? Akihiko seemed to find himself falling into a habit of becoming unusually acquainted with those types. There had been Yukimura and there had been Mitsuhide - he knew Nobushige was likely from a time in the past but the other man's words are enough to confirm that he too was from the age of samurai.

If only he'd had this sort of hand-on knowledge when he was trying to pass his history final... The shakes the silly thought from his head though, instead regarding Nobushige with a short laugh. "So you're acquainted with him too? I knew he kept a horse but I didn't know he had several..."

[cubofkai]

"Yes! He has an entire stable; Elder Brother works in it. I did not realize they cared for the stable at first, but after meeting them they allowed me access."

For that he was very thankful; being on good terms with the alternate samurai was a good thing in and of itself, but getting to ride again gave his life a little bit of normalcy that it had been profoundly lacking.

[caesar]

As his friend spoke, Akihiko's eyes found themselves drawn to the horse again. He'd never ridden one, let alone been this close - they were pretty remarkable-looking creatures, particularly this one. It's coat was glossy and its mane well-kept, definitely looked as though Mitsuhide took great care in tending to his horses.

But it's Nobushige's mention of a brother that draws his eyes away from the animal and back to his acquaintance. "Your older brother is here?" Akihiko tilts his head, a bit confused by the statement. Nobushige hadn't mentioned a brother before, not in the time he'd spent with the child during the curse. Unless -

"Wait, is that who Sasuke is?" he blinks, recalling the other boy mentioning that name.

[cubofkai]

"Oh, no -- forgive me. I must be confusing you, though it seems to be the nature of this place to cause such a state." Yukimura backed up to begin to explain properly.

"Sasuke, who I was looking for in my youth, is Sasuke Sarutobi, the leader of the Takeda Shinobi. When I was young, he watched after me... though in all reality, he still does." Yukimura looked sheepish at the admission before continuing on.

"I do have a true elder brother; his name is Nobuyuki, though he has not arrived in this place. The brother I spoke of is the Yukimura Sanada of Akechi-dono's world; we thought it quite odd to call each other Yukimura, and he did not wish me to be so formal as to call him by our family name. So though we are from different worlds, we have decided to call each other brother."

Yukimura grinned to himself. "I suppose it is close enough to the truth; even if we are very different men, we are both sons of Sanada Masayuki."

[caesar]

"Wait-"

Akihiko's brow furrows, a bit of a grimace forming across his face. Nobushige knew Yukimura, but Nobushige's brother was named Nobuyuki... But Nobushige claimed that both he and Yukimura Sanada were both sons of Masayuki Sanada...

It's pretty much going entirely over his head.

"I thought your name was Nobushige..."

[cubofkai]

Yukimura laughed, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

"Well, it is. Sanada Nobushige is my proper name, and one I used more in my youth. Most, however, call me Sanada Yukimura. It was something of a nickname that became quite popular."

[caesar]

"But... How can you also be Sanada Yukimura? Isn't he - wh..." Akihiko's head hurts. Vatheon was a strange and unusual world, throwing an array of oddities in every direction to begin with, having the concept of doubles appear was something else entirely. This Yukimura didn't look very much like the other Yukimura, the one he had initially met, yet they were supposedly the same man? The same man he'd read about in his history class?

Did this mean that just maybe, there was another Akihiko out there?

"Let me guess... I shouldn't even try and figure this one out, should I?"

[cubofkai]

"That is what I have decided to do." Yukimura shrugged his shoulders. "I do not know what kind of magic caused this all to be, and doubt I would understand it even if told."

In anycase, it was peaceful and happy here, even if there were two of him. Why argue against a good thing?

[caesar]

Well, if both of these apparent Yukimuras wished not to question the existence of one and other or the apparent magic brought on by Vatheon, Akihiko feels that maybe he can grow to accept it too. Nobushige's reassurance is enough to make him nod, a smile forming on his face now. It's still a downright bizarre scenario but maybe it doesn't matter so much.

"Do you mind if I keep calling you Nobushige?" he asks, looking curiously in Yukimura's direction.

[cubofkai]

"Not in the least! It is actually nice, in a way, to hear someone use my proper name." Yukimura gave him a pleased, if mildly bashful, smile. The name reminded him of happier times, before his life became little aside from war and bloodshed.

[caesar]

"Then I'll call you just that," Akihiko says with a bit of an enthused nod. Nobushige and Yukimura... Even if they're allegedly the same person, Akihiko can't help but feel a strange swelling of eagerness rising up in his chest. Both are men of the Sanada clan - the same man but maybe that's not entirely relevant. They share a family name and even if the bloodlines are diluted at this point, or even if Akihiko isn't directly related to either man... It still feels nice to think of them as distant relatives.

"Nobushige, Yukimura and Akihiko... Brave men of the Sanada family," he says with a short laugh, shaking his head. It's silly to think, silly to even say out loud...

...But it's nice.

[cubofkai]

Hearing that, Yukimura breaks into a grin. "Yes! That we all are; perhaps we, too, should call you brother! Our clan may be small in this place, but no doubt it will become strong, with such as we together."

Yukimura knew it was possible they were not even from the same dimension, much less family line, yet the idea of having such a family here was extremely pleasing. He got to see so little of his own... here, they could provide each other with what they had been forced to leave behind.

"Share your age with me, so that I may call you properly, brother."

[caesar]

"My age?" It's a bit sudden that Nobushige wants to jump onto the concept of being brothers but considering the time the man was from, maybe it isn't quite so odd. Akihiko recalls hearing about 'sworn brotherhoods' like this in history - and it reminds him a bit of Shinji in a way. If there was anyone he could consider a 'sworn brother', it would be Shinji.

He staves off the melancholy smile that threatens to appear, settling on masking it with a short chuckle. "I'm 19."

[cubofkai]

This is a boy who adopted someone claiming to be himself as a brother without batting an eye. Adopting some boy he has only met twice as another is no concern.

Yukimura simply grins brightly. "It seems I am to be honored with a third elder brother!" Including the actual one. "I am seventeen, myself."